


The dangers of Ydradic tea

by UrsaeMinoris



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: (not that bad ; they just drunk some tea that made them dizzy, Alien Culture, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Non-Consensual Drug Use, POV Shiro (Voltron), Pining Shiro (Voltron), Protective Keith (Voltron), Slice of Life, after Krolia left, and they didn't know it would do that), set during the first part of s7
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-15 22:33:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16941957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UrsaeMinoris/pseuds/UrsaeMinoris
Summary: During their trip back Earth, the paladins stop on a planet that was part of the Coalition and still is independent from the Galra. They are welcomed, but the tea they get served has some unexpected effects. When he gets out to clear his mind, Shiro ends up lost. Of course, Keith will find him.--Shiro stopped in his tracks, a terrible doubt nagging at the back of his mind. He turned around, watching closely his surroundings, and had to come to the disastrous conclusion : he was utterly, and completely lost !All he could see were big trees and smaller trees, and weird bushes, and some luminescent mushroom-like things, and sort-of-ferns as well. And he couldn’t see very far, as it was late at night. Even the full moon didn’t help much, as only a ray here and there found it’s way through the canopy. He would have asked his way, but at that hour, the mossy streets were empty. Because, yes, this was a city.





	1. Lost in the woods

**Author's Note:**

> This is how I cope with season 8 anxiety, apparently. 
> 
> All the team is there but it’s clearly centered around Keith and Shiro, and they spend most of the time away from the others.

Shiro stopped in his tracks, a terrible doubt nagging at the back of his mind. He turned around, watching closely his surroundings, and had to come to the disastrous conclusion : he was utterly, and completely lost !

All he could see were big trees and smaller trees, and weird bushes, and some luminescent mushroom-like things, and sort-of-ferns as well. And he couldn’t see very far, as it was late at night. Even the full moon didn’t help much, as only a ray here and there found it’s way through the canopy. He would have asked his way, but at that hour, the mossy streets were empty. Because, yes, this was a city.

The Ydrads lived in trees. More specifically, inside gigantic trees called Lanera, with huge, cylindric trunks covered in a smooth, reddish bark. The oldest ones often had hollow trunks, and were used as rooms. Other rooms were created by directing branches and grafting, creating the structure for homes made out of living wood. It was all done in a way that a visitor’s eye couldn’t distinguish the houses from the actual trees of the forest wherein the city was.

Of course, it didn’t help said visitor that there were no street-signs whatsoever. Apparently, the Ydrads didn’t use written language, but scents. Hunk had explained that this was reminiscent of the way on Earth, some insects, like ants, would mark their path with pheromones. Too bad that an Earthling like Shiro wasn’t able to perceive the pheromones used...

 

That was what had saved a part of the population from the Galra invasion, actually. The Galra had attacked the biggest, most modern cities settled in meadows, that had been more technological and had had constructions out of stone as well. But the populations residing in the forests had been well hidden ; the Galra couldn’t find their cities, and the people couldn’t be detected by the Galra life sensors because they couldn’t be distinguished from the opulent fauna living in the forest too.

The planet had been liberated by the rebels, who had helped the free people to organize an attack against the local Galra bases ; and then had showed them how to set up a defense to protect the planet against further attacks. This was even before the Voltron Coalition.

 

The Voltron team had come in proximity of the planet while on their trip back to Earth, and had made a stop there to restock. The Ydrads had welcomed them and right now, everyone except Shiro was at an official reception. Well he had been there too, until he decided to catch some fresh air and wandered a bit too far.

 

Shiro chuckled and collapsed on a big, flat, root that may or may not have been grown intentionally as a public bench. He felt a little tipsy. He suspected the tea that they had been served at the welcome ceremony. It hadn’t tasted alcoholic in the slightest, more like...herbal and a bit earthy...but there must have been something to it. He had drunk it mainly to please their hosts, and had accepted when they had served him again, until he started feeling lightheaded. Which is why he went outside for a moment. He should have paid more attention to where he walked.

He looked up and could catch sight of the starry skies framed by foliage. It made him feel better somehow. The air was warm and stuffy, maybe he could just lie on this bench and try to rest a bit. He would figure out what to do in the morning. The sun would probably rise soon enough, anyway.

 

A bip.

"Shiro ?"

Keith’s voice.

His wrist comm ! He had forgotten his helmet at the party, but he still had his armor on, including this.

"Shiro ? Are you there ?"

"Keith !"

Shiro activated the holoscreen and could see Keith’s anxious face.

"Where are you ? I got outside, but I can’t see you !"

"I’m ok. I’m…" Shiro looked around, racking his brain to find a good description of his location. "...near the big tree."

A few seconds of incredulous silence for Keith to digest his answer.

"Which one ?"

Shiro tittered. "I don’t know."

On the screen, he could see Keith briefly close his eyes and take a deep breath.

"How much of that tea did you drink ?"

Shiro laughed heartily at that.

"...I don’t know."

Keith made a sound that was somewhere between a sigh and a grunt. Shiro couldn’t help smiling. He probably shouldn’t be this amused when his friend was worried because of his own carelessness but… it was kind of endearing.

Keith produced his helmet and put it on, and some luminous lines appeared on the visor.

"Ok, locking on to your coordinates. Hang on, I’m coming for you. Don’t move !"

Shiro laughed again. "Don’t worry. I can’t go very far anyway !"

"You’re close. I’ll be there in a tick !"

 

There was a short silence, but Shiro could still hear Keith panting, so he hadn’t shut down the communication. Shiro kept his holoscreen out too, just in case. It wasn’t projecting anything, but he could hear the sounds, probably coming from Keith’s helmet, now.

 

"...Shiro ?"

"...Yes ?"

"You still there ?"

"Yes. I’m fine, Keith"

"I’m almost there !"

 

The white and red silhouette appeared out of the shadows and Shiro waved cheerfully. Keith sprinted towards him, only stopping when he was standing in front of him. Shiro beamed and patted the bench beside him, and Keith sat down.

 

"So…," he asked Keith. "how is the reception going ? I hope my absence didn’t cause any trouble."

"I don’t know," admitted Keith. "I’m not sure they noticed. They had started playing music and dancing when I left." He sighed. "People were… they had all drunk too much tea."

"You seem to be all right."

"Yeah well… I didn’t really like it, so I never finished my first cup."

Shiro burst out laughing, but Keith didn’t join in. When their eyes met, Shiro saw the concerned pinch of his eyebrows, and quieted down.

"Shiro… how do you feel ?"

"I’m fine !", he repeated, almost reflexively.

"What about Pidge ?", added Shiro, suddenly anxious, "I think I saw her drinking that tea..."

Keith hummed. "She seemed ok. Just talking a lot. Almost caused a diplomatic incident by mentioning the Olkari. Turns out the Ydrads _don’t_ agree with programming plants. Hunk is with her. The tea didn’t have much effect on him."

There was a short silence, and Shiro was about to ask about the rest of the team, when Keith continued :

"When I left, Allura was teaching some altean dance to Lance. Coran was telling stories to a whole group of Ydrads, but he seemed sober. I think he was keeping an eye on everyone. I told him I was bringing you back. Romelle had been listening to Coran’s stories, too, but she had fallen asleep with the Wolf". He still refused to call him Kosmo.

"Ok", answered Shiro, a little reassured. He sighed and leaned back on a branch that was conveniently growing in parallel to the flat root, and could be used as a seat back. Between the leaves, the stars were shining, like a reminder of the whole universe surrounding the tiny planet. The big, blue moon seemed like a kind presence watching over them. Keith looked up, too.

"It’s nice, here. Quiet."

Shiro let out a pensive sigh. "Yeah."

They stayed silent for a moment.


	2. Coming home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...And to Shiro, home means back to the team -with Keith, of course.

After a few instants -Shiro would have been unable to tell how much time had passed- Keith spoke again, softly.

"We should go back."

Shiro collected himself. "Yes."

"Can you walk ?"

"Of course." He had made his way to this place, hadn’t he ?

He stood up and felt himself teeter after a few steps ; Keith was already by his side, catching him before he could fall. He draped Shiro’s left arm over his shoulders and, supporting some of his weight, started to walk slowly.

 

Shiro huffed. "Always there to rescue me, hu ?"

He could swear he _heard_ Keith’s smile when he replied : "As many times as it takes."

"...thanks.". He knew what Keith was referring to. It was one of the memories that he had from the clone, and it always was strange to _remember_ things he hadn’t lived himself. He felt strangely jealous of some of the memories that the clone had with Keith ; as if it was something robbed from him.

Maybe his thanks didn’t sound completely convincing, because Keith looked up at him : "You ok ?"

"...Yes, fine."

 

He let himself weigh more against Keith. It was maybe a little mean, as he didn’t truly need that much support. But somehow, it was so comforting, just loosening up and leaning against his friend ; Keith didn’t even falter under the additional burden, and kept advancing at an even pace. Shiro exhaled and closed his eyes, letting his head fall gently against Keith’s ; his cheek ended up on the top of Keith’s head, dark hair tickling his nose. This time, Keith stopped, and Shiro opened his eyes again, tensing up.

"Shiro ?"

Keith’s voice sounded concerned, not angry.

"I’m...ok."

"Don’t worry. I’ll get you back safe."

Shiro nodded, smiling into Keith’s hair. It indeed felt safe, to have Keith with him ; it felt _home_ , even in this strange alien city disguised as a forest.

They just made a few more steps before Shiro blurted : "You smell nice."

"Hu ?" Keith almost tripped, and stumbled to a halt.

_You. Smell. Nice._ Did he just seriously say that out loud ?!  He felt his  ears grow hot, and knew he was blushing. He burrowed his face in Keith’s hair to hide, possibly making things even more awkward.

There was a short silence, then Keith cleared his throat, adjusted his hold on Shiro, and started walking again.

 

After a few doboshes, they arrived to a clearing that Shiro recognized as the central place of the city. The gigantic Lanera that hosted the local council and where the reception was happening was unmistakable. There were about ten Ydrads discussing in the clearing, who turned to them when they arrived. They were slim and tall creatures, the skin in various shades of green and brown, with actual, photosynthetic leaves growing on their heads. They bowed their heads to them in a flowing gesture, welcoming them back, and Shiro and Keith did their best to imitate the salute to greet them in return.

They walked through the high grass and white flowers, as the Ydrads went back to their conversations.

 

Entering the Lanera, they found the vast circular room inside the trunk where they had eaten earlier. Shiro actually enjoyed the interior, with it’s irregular wooden walls and high ceiling, the phosphorescent mushrooms used to diffuse some light, the thick carpet-like fabric on the ground. The music had stopped and the room was quiet and only dimly lit. Most guests had fallen asleep in beds made out of blankets and of the huge pillows they had used so far for sitting. A few groups were still sitting and talking quietly.

 

Coran immediately stood up and strode in their direction.

"You found Shiro !", he exclaimed, a tad too loud. Loud enough to wake Allura, who looked up, smiled a them, and went back to sleep, in a corner where the rest of the team had settled. Kosmo, still in Romelle’s arms among the team’s sleeping pile, teleported himself to Keith and greeted him. The Ydrads with whom Coran had been talking gestured him to lower his voice. So Coran whispered (still rather noisily) when he added : "I’m getting you a glass of water. It might help." And he walked away.

 

Shiro let Keith guide him to the corner where the team was, and sat on a pillow with Kosmo at his feet, while Keith helped him take his armor off, to just keep the undersuit. He watched while Keith stripped to his undersuit as well. The red paladin then gathered pillows and a blanket to make a bed. Coran did bring them both a glass of fresh water, and Shiro drained his in one go. It felt like it cleared his mind a little bit indeed. Keith protested about the water, saying he was fine, but still complied at Coran’s insistence.

 

Shiro was starting to feel very sleepy and he curled up among the pillows. Keith smiled and covered him with the blanket.

"Good night, Shiro."

Then he got up, or rather tried – Shiro only realized he had grabbed his wrist when Keith was stopped in his movement and they both stared stupidly at Shiro’s hand holding Keith back.

"I’m just getting a blanket for myself. I’ll be back in a minute." Keith promised.

But somehow, Shiro didn’t find it in himself to let him go.

Keith sighed.

"Fine", he said gently, "I guess that blanket is big enough for two".

He huddled under the blanket with Shiro, putting himself between the open room and Shiro – and the rest of the team, at Shiro’s back.

And there, feeling Keith’s warmth against him, the weight of Kosmo on his feet, soothed by Hunk’s soft snoring and the appeased respiration of the paladins, Shiro fell asleep much faster than he had in a long, long time, and only had good dreams. Most of them included Keith.

**Author's Note:**

> So, who caught that Ydrads was just an anagram of dryads ? :D Anyway, I had fun imagining this civilization.
> 
> Let me know your thoughts in the comments ! :)


End file.
